Hanna D: The Girl From Vondel Park (1984/Severin DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

Exploitation and sexploitation comes in all forms, but some are so uniquely bad that you have to see them to believe they exist.  Rino Di Silvestro’s Hanna D: The Girl From Vondel Park (1984) is one such oddity that seems as much a product of the late 1970s as anything as we follow the title character living on the edge of desperation and despair.  Of course, the film revels in that, but Di Silvestro is convinced on some odd level that he is being realistic and maybe even making art.

 

Well, he is not telling us anything we didn’t see then or too much now.  Ann-Gisel Glass is the title character, ready to let people see her naked for money, exploiting her innocence to get by.  Of course, she will graduate to a world of sleaze, drugs, sex and abuse, but Di Silvestro’s male point of view is beyond obvious and the film is a wacky wreck with moments so dumb, it jumps the shark early.  Yet, the sex and nudity is bold at times by today’s rollback/AIDS standards until it also become stupid and exploitive.  You just have to see it yourself, if you’re interested.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image looks a little worn for its age, but color and some shots are pretty good just the same.  In one of the oddest twists of all, the Director of Photography is Franco Delli Colli, who was the cameraman for Vincent Price’s 1964 version of I Am Legend, The Last Man On Earth (reviewed elsewhere on this site) and he does have a knack for stark images, even in color.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also dated, but is an English dub, though I doubt the original Italian would have improved the film.  Extras include the original theatrical trailer and The Confessions Of Rino D where the director explains how he came to make the film.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo